If any animal is associated with heavy metal, it’s goats. But photographer Alexandra Crockett is putting together a book that reveals an even deeper (and maybe slightly less Satanic) bond between metal musicians and beasts. Specifically, their kitties.

Crockett’s upcoming The Metaldudes Cats Book will feature photographs of various luminaries in today’s metal scene sitting with their favorite feline furballs. In spite of the fact that, okay, the idea sounds a little silly at first, Crockett has something a little more profound in mind. As she explains:

The Metaldudes Cats Book challenges stereotypes of masculinity and the metal culture. I think we can all agree that cat photos and videos are an integral part of the Internet. The Metaldudes Cats Book combines three loves that have a global reach: kitties, metal, and dudes. A love of kitties binds the entire world together, even tough guys who listen to brutal, harsh music. This book is intended to not only celebrate the beauty of the people photographed (and their adorable kitties), but also to transcend the judgment placed on the metal scene, which sometimes is characterized as violent, hateful, and misanthropic.

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The metal scene seems to agree. Already, members of Isis, Xasthur, Atriarch, Black Goat, Book Of Black Earth, Harassor, Lord Time, Skeletonwitch, King Dude, Morbid Angel, Anhedonist, Thrones, Lightning Swords Of Death, Municipal Waste, Holy Grail, Nausea, Exhumed, Phobia, Murder Construct, Cattle Decapitation, and Gypsyhawk have signed on to participate. When finished, 40 percent of the the book's proceeds will be donated to no-kill animal shelters along the West Coast.

More details can be found on the project’s Facebook page, and an Etsy store has been set up to sell official The Metaldudes Cats Book t-shirts. Which, by the way, are amazing. Maybe now that it’s becoming okay for metal fans to openly profess their love of cute cuddly cats, someone will finally take the ultimate step and hire this guy to front their band.